Monday, September 25, 2023

Dear Elementary Parents,
This is a big week in our elementary school! Our playground is opening for children, unofficially, tomorrow, and will open officially at Family Fun Day at 12:00pm on Saturday, September 30th. Be there to join the celebration!

I would like to take a moment to thank you all for entrusting ACS with your children. We had a marvelous Student Appreciation Day on Friday, with a fun performance by Locotito, burgers and hot dogs grilled by Dr. Crouse and myself, and a movie afternoon. The day was a great reminder of why we educators do what we do, and how thankful we are for your support and for leaving your most precious children with us during the days. I would also like to extend my deep gratitude to our Parent Reps who helped us serve the hot dogs and hamburgers on Friday. The whole event went very smoothly thanks to their generous help!

Just a friendly reminder that it's not too late to sign up for our Parent Coffee: CFG Edition on Tuesday, September 26th from 8:15-9:15am. More info is below:

On Tuesday, September 26th we are so happy to host our first Parent Coffee: CFG Edition. CFG stands for Critical Friends Group and is a tool that is commonly used in schools by teachers to improve their practices in the classroom. However, the structure is easily adaptable and useful for people from all walks of life, especially parents looking to improve their parenting skills!

This first Parent Coffee: CFG Edition will be focused on developing parenting skills and practices with the goal of raising independent and resilient children. Registration is required; we hope you will complete the form linked below and join us! The hour will start off with a 15-minute presentation on this theme by the Elementary Leadership Team, and then break out into collaborative groups to generate ideas and solve problems. To learn more. see the poster below and click on this link to register:

Thank you for reading. I wish you a week of inspired creativity!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree

Elementary Principal

Monday, September 18, 2023

Dear Elementary Parents, 
Welcome to Week 7 of the 2023-24 school year. Below, we have a number of important announcements for the coming weeks:

Parent/Teacher Conferences, October 4, 2023:
In past years, ACS Elementary ran two student-led conferences per year. I love student-led conferences; it's an important time for students to take some leadership and responsibility for their learning, and for parents to see their children through a slightly different lens than normal. Despite these positives, having student-led conferences in October poses several problems, namely the desire of parents to be able to sit down with their child's teacher and hear from the expert on how their child is doing socially, emotionally, and academically. I've received a number of requests recently to make the fall conference a Parent/Teacher Conference, rather than a Student-Led Conferences, and this makes good sense. So, please watch in the coming days for information on signing up for your Parent/Teacher Conference on Wednesday, October 4th. There will be no school that day and students will not be invited to the meetings. However, if you need to have your child with you, we will have adults in the library reading books and spending time with children while you attend your scheduled Parent/Teacher Conference.

Student Appreciation Day on Friday, September 22, 2023:
I am new to Student Appreciation Day, but it is a long-lived tradition here at ACS in Bolivia. We have a plan for a fun day of community building;
     • 8:40-9:40 am - Locotito the Magician will present to our students in the auditorium
     • Lunch- Dr. Crouse and I will be barbequing hamburgers. hot dogs and a vegetarian option
     • 1:30 pm - We will have movie screenings in the auditorium and theater. Students will be able to choose between two fun, age-appropriate movies. 
We are looking forward to celebrating our outstanding students next Friday!

MS Cougar Cup This Week:
Our Middle School girls' & boys' soccer and volleyball teams will be competing against local schools here on campus this week. Please see the schedule below for more information. All parents and students are welcome on campus to cheer on our Cougars!

Parent Coffee: CFG Edition on Tuesday, September 26th from 8:15-9:15am
On Tuesday, September 26th we are so happy to host our first Parent Coffee: CFG Edition. CFG stands for Critical Friends Group and is a tool that is commonly used in schools by teachers to improve their practices in the classroom. However, the structure is easily adaptable and useful for people from all walks of life, especially parents looking to improve their parenting skills!

This first Parent Coffee: CFG Edition will be focused on developing parenting skills and practices with the goal of raising independent and resilient children. Registration is required; we hope you will complete the form linked below and join us! The hour will start off with a 15-minute presentation on this theme by the Elementary Leadership Team, and then break out into collaborative groups to generate ideas and solve problems. To learn more or to register, please see the poster below or click on this link:

Thanks for reading, and have a courageous week!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal

Monday, September 11, 2023

Dear Elementary Parents,

Thank you to those of you who were able to join our first Parent Coffee of the school year this past Friday. We had a great time getting to know one another and collected ideas for future Parent Coffee topics. We'll be in touch soon with more information on our next Parent Coffee, which will be held on Friday, October 20th.

Another big thank you goes out to our fantastic cohort of Parent Representatives who met with us last Wednesday to discuss roles and responsibilities, and we worked together to develop a culture of collaboration amongst our volunteers. If you haven't already, you should be hearing from the class representative from your child's class in the near future. We are so appreciative of this group!

Saturday, September 30th we will be holding our annual Family Fun Day on campus. Unlike previous years, the whole event is being run by our secondary school student council. We look forward to seeing everyone at this traditionally well-attended event. We are also excited to show off the wonderful new playground facilities, which will be finished by then. \

This coming Friday, students and parents from Grades 1, 2, and 3 are invited to attend a fundraising party for MedAlert - a home in La Paz that cares for people with severe medical issues. The fundraiser is being run by a group of compassionate secondary school students who have visited the home and felt compelled to help the home improve their environment and help them pay rent on their space. This is an excellent action being taken by our students, and your support would go a long way! The party will have games, snacks and activities for these students and their parents. See the poster below for more information!

Thanks, as always, for reading. Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal